


I just like proving you wrong

by flickerbyniall



Series: Prompts [23]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Childhood Friends, M/M, Superheroes, powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 00:15:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19800730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flickerbyniall/pseuds/flickerbyniall
Summary: Niall has super strength and Harry can move things with his mind. But it's more complicated than that.





	I just like proving you wrong

Niall shouldn’t be smiling, especially when he’s running for his life. He can hear the steps coming from behind getting closer and closer and he can feel the bullets pass right by his head making an echoing noise in the back of his mind that stuns him for a second, long enough to lose balance and turn his body to the side.

He feels a tight pressure on his forearm first and then the heat. Niall doesn’t have to look to know he’s being shot, it’s not the first time either, he’s not a stranger to the sudden impact of no sensation, the weird wave of feeling hot and wet as his arm starts to get numb and buzzing. It’s not pain, it’s never pain, that comes afterward when he’s alone and safe in his bedroom, taking care of whatever the night did to him and it’s all quiet and he doesn’t have bad guys hot on his heels. He doesn’t have time to look at his blood coming down his suit.

It’s dark and it’s raining like it always seems to be in this kind of situations and it makes things difficult, like trying to see when the wind hits him in the face or running faster when the water gets into the boots. But Niall is fast enough to keep a good distance from them, as far as one can possibly be running on a rooftop of a very large building. He looks behind to find fifteen men chasing him, armed to the teeth, screaming and pointing at the bag Niall is carrying on his chest, directing the bullets everywhere but there. One guy at the front raises his fist and they stop running, giving Niall a couple of seconds to recover his breath and when he turns to the front he understands the reason they’re not chasing him anymore.

There are people waiting for him at the end of the roof, more than twenty guns pointing at him but Niall’s wet hair is over his eyes so there could be more. He takes a deep breath considering his options. He can fight his way over the building but he’s not bulletproof so the chances are not exactly on his side. He can’t really go back for the same reason and now he’s suddenly out of options because they’re surrounding him. It’s been a long time since he felt inadequate about anything, but right now, trapped in the middle of an English gang with a potential bomb attached to his chest on the top of a bunch of abandoned buildings at the outskirts of the city, he looks up to the sky, wishing he could fly.

But he can’t.

“Give us the package.” Says the man pointing the gun at his face, walking up to him as the raindrops hit the floor underneath their feet and the thunder strikes over their heads.

“I can’t do that,” Niall replies with a smile that turns into a curse when someone from behind presses the exact place the bullet went through his arm.

Niall turns to his right and twists the man’s arm, lifting him up with just one arm and throwing him at the wall behind them. Niall is strong, very strong but again, he’s just one man and now all the guns are pointing at him again and times seems to slow down for him. They fire but the bullets freeze in front of him and he can almost count them, they’re a lot. The rain keeps dropping and the air is still cold but Niall knows this feeling, he was used to it and to be honest, he was waiting for it all night.

He smiles and starts running again, throwing punches at people as he goes, protecting the thing on his chest with his injured arm, but this time they’re confused and scared and that’s when people do stupid things, like started to gather around him again so he punches the floor, breaking the concrete around him and making them fall at his feet. The bodies in front of him are swept to the side like they’re blown by the air before he even decided to take one step, so he runs till he gets to the end of the building and then he jumps wide enough to perfectly land on his feet over the next building but his eyes were never focused on the landing, he was looking up to the highest rooftop in front of him, seeing him, standing right on the edge with his hand extended looking at him, soggy and angry, dressed in all black, just like Niall, trying to cover his face with a hoodie but Niall can see the reflection of the lights on his rings as he moves his hands. So Niall runs to him.

The men behind him start to get up with his guns on his hand but the man on the black hoodie lifts two fingers of his extended hand and guns are taken from their hands to be thrown out of the building like rose petals on a parade. When Niall looks up again, the man is gone. He’s starting to feel dizzy so he runs to the edge and jumps to the next building until he sees a wall tall enough for him to stand and land on the floor. He takes a couple of steps back and gets ready to leap but his vision is getting fuzzy and his head starts to ache, so he trips. He’s been running with a bullet hole on his arm for a while and even when he heals fast, the wound is open and his body is starting to catch up with him and at that moment he feels pain, not only from his arm but his entire body, so he closes his eyes and pretends he’s sleeping until he doesn’t have to wake up.

But he doesn’t hit the ground, he just floats a couple of centimeters over the floor for a few seconds until he opens his eyes and greets the same green eyes that promised him never save him again. He’s furious, he can see it by the way he’s breathing and how his fingers are extended next to his face, but still, his feet are gently placed in the floor as his hand goes down.

“Hey, Harry.” Niall smiles and the man in front of him curses under his breath, taking his good arm and put it over his shoulders.

“We have to close that wound right now.” He whispers over his ear and looks around, trying to find somewhere to hide as they hear more people coming for them.

“Missed you, too.” Niall laughs.

*

_They were fifteen when it happened, back in Ireland when Harry was visiting Niall. They were best friends, their mothers were best friends since the first day of college when they were assigned to be roommates, Anne and Maura were inseparable so inevitably, Harry and Niall grew up together, going from England to Ireland, back and ford. There’s something beautiful about a friendship when they share a connection, their mothers used to say that when they find someone in life that you get to care very deeply, there’s really no reason strong enough or force capable of keeping up apart, so they took every chance they get to visit each other like having kids around the same age that seem to really like each other._

_Being friends was easy for them, they had fun together, they understood each other. The Styles and the Horans were family, even if the lived miles apart or when both marriages failed, the kids used to visit each other all the time, like that summer when Harry just turned fifteen and Niall was learning to drive his father’s truck so they decided to take it out for a ride to the abandoned factories near the farms so Niall wouldn't crush or hurt anyone._

_But they got bored really quick and went into those factories. There was not much to see or do so they played with whatever was around, like piling up old rusty barrels that smelt weird and thrown rock or bricks at it but what they didn’t know is that they weren’t in just a factory, it was a chemical lab high on radiation, abandoned for obvious reasons, so when Niall threw a lighter at the pile, it exploded. There was no fire or a sound, just a force that threw them both at the walls and let them a bitter taste in the mouth._

_They run back home and didn’t say a word about it until Harry left to go back to England. They were fine, not a bruise, not blood and no pain, but suddenly, three months later when Niall was helping his dad at his butcher shop he realized he was able to carry big amounts of meat in just one arm and chop them without any effort. The best part of it? He wouldn’t get tired as he used to and his father, Bobby, didn’t even notice the change. When he turned sixteen he decided to see what he was capable of and came back to the old factory but nothing was there, no walls, no fences, only debris of what they found that day. Niall finished to tear down a wall with his fists that afternoon._

_So when he went to see Harry and showed him what happened to him, Harry told him he was able to move things with his mind. And it was perfect, they could be superheroes like the comics they loved to read and save people, and they did for a while until they turned eighteen. They used to train together and Niall discovered he was fast and he could jump very long distances, Harry could create these force fields or shields around them with just the thought of it and it was fun, it was like they were living in a sci-fi movie, stopping robbers and molesters in the streets in the middle of the night wearing masks and dressing funny._

_But it got bigger and more dangerous as they went, just like them. Niall could break down walls just running through them and Harry could carry cars over his head, he could lift bodies and thrown them across buildings just moving his fingers. Finally, it went too far and he couldn’t take it anymore. Niall couldn’t just let it go._

*

It’s been ten years and still, Harry finds himself saving Niall from himself just like when they started. He drags Niall behind the wall they were hiding from where the cars start to gather in, he looks around and finds a building a couple of meters away from them and starts walking, making Niall groan when he intentionally applies more pressure on his arm. Harry extends his hand at the door when they get close and it opens in front of them, letting them enter at the darkness of the building. Harry puts Niall on the floor and searches for the back pocket of his pants where he keeps the thread and needle.

The shoot is clean, there are two holes, a way in and a way out, so Harry just cleans it with what Niall has on him and sew him up like they used to do when they were kids. Niall is a lucky bastard and now his hands are covered with his blood once again.

“Just give me fifteen minutes to recharge,” Niall says as he snuggles down to the wall behind him, sitting there as he’s taking a little nap.

“If this doesn’t kill us, I’ll kill you,” Harry says, walking to the windows, seeing all the commotion out there.

Eight black cars parked next to the fences that surround this place filled with empty building on the verge of collapse. The lights coming from the cars are enough to light the place up and Harry can see the people running from one side to the other, shouting orders and recharging weapons. Harry should be studying for a case but instead, he’s in the middle of nowhere with Niall bleeding in the floor a couple of steps from him like they were stupid teenagers again.

“I can hear you thinking,” Niall says from behind him and Harry scoff.

“Me thinking is what get us out of this kind of situations.” Harry turns to Niall and finds him standing, moving his arm around, testing. That was fast, faster than he’s ever healed.

“That’s fair,” Niall smiles at him, walking up to him and looking out the window to see what Harry already knows.

They can't stay much longer, the more time passes the fewer chances they have to make it out alive, and judging by the way Niall is holding that thing on his chest, it’s important.

“What is that?” Harry points at the green bag crossing his chest.

“A bomb,” Niall says, still looking out at the streets. “We need a car.”

“A bomb?!” Harry screams, making Niall cover up his mouth with his hand. “Why the fuck do you have a bomb wrapped around your chest?!”

“It’s not active! Calm down!” Niall says, slowly pulling out his hand. “It’s a prototype.” He explains as that means something to Harry. “I have to take it out of the streets.”

“You don’t have to do anything!” He screams at Niall’s face, trying to make him understand. “It’s not your job! You’re not the police.”

And then he gives him the look, the same look he had on his face seven years ago when Harry told him he couldn’t play superheroes anymore, they had to live their lives, go to college and focus on their problems instead of someone else’s. He’s disappointed, but so is Harry.

“Let's get out of here,” Niall says, looking at the floor and moving his injured arm, throwing punches at the air. “Let’s go from behind and we’ll take a car when we get to the front.”

“But I hid my bike into some bushes at the entrance,” Harry says, trying to remember where exactly did he hide it.

“Then, we go for your bike.”

And that sounds like a plan.

But if Harry learned anything from playing superhero is that plans never go as planned. Like when they find people pointing guns at them the second they walk out.

“For fuck’s sake,” Harry whispers under his breath and extend his fingers, making the guns fly away with a movement. “I hate guns.”

A man jumps to him but Niall stops him, grabbing him by the neck and tossing him to the wall, and then, it’s game time. Harry extends both of his arms and closes his fists in the air, breaking the walls around them and making the bricks hit the people on their way as Niall picks up whatever is near him and throws it to whoever tries to approach them. They start to walk, Niall going in front of Harry, preventing anyone from getting closer to him and Harry keeps an eye on their surroundings, stopping bullets and knifes from touching them. They are a good team, they always were, even before the powers thing happened.

Niall stops Harry with his arm when they get to the middle of the mess. Cars park in front of them like a barrier and people hiding behind them with high-reach weapons and snippers on the top of the buildings. whatever the fuck Niall is carrying in his chest, it has to be terrible to be worth all of this.

“Do your thing,” Harry says as he takes off the hoodie and lets the rain touches his face.

He smiles and tramples the floor, making a crack that keeps going until the black van moves to the side and Harry extends both hands, separating them just as the floor cracks open and the car falls down, making the bullets rain in panic, keeping Harry busy lifting up shields in front of them.

“Get me a gun,” Niall says next to Harry and he looks at him like he’s lost his mind.

“What? No!” He says, sending the bullets to the empty buildings, hearing it go into the walls and fall to the floor like raindrops.

“Harry, this is a life or death kind of situation!” Niall throws a punch right next to Harry’s face, hitting a guy that was trying to sneak into them flying across the floor.

Harry keeps one hand extended in front of him and directs the other to one of the cars, closing his fist and pulling it to his chest, dragging the car with him, positioning in front of Niall.

“This is worse than a gun,” Niall says, lifting the car and throwing it to the people shooting at them, making two more car crash and exploding for the impact.

“That was out getaway, you moron!” Harry screams, taking Niall to his chest as he protects them from the explosion.

There are only five cars left and when Harry looks into Niall’s eyes, he understands what he’s thinking. It doesn’t matter if they make it to the bike, they’ll chase them. They have to get rid of the cars. So when Niall nods and starts running to the hellfire, Harry doesn’t stop him, he just turns to the parallel direction. He sees him go through people, breaking doors and throwing giants rocks to the cars, making them roll down the hills and explode, Harry opens himself a path, walking slowly as people run to him, he just moves his hand, pushing them away, dragging whatever was near to knock them down and taking guns out of hand.

Harry doesn’t do violence; he barely uses his powers if he can help it. He’s not like Niall, he doesn’t have this urge to save everyone around him. He didn’t ask for this, he holds no obligation to it, but sometimes, when you are trapped in the middle of a mess like this one, you have to let your own principles go. So that’s what Harry does, he extended both of his arms in front of him and lift the three cars left, closing his fists making the car shake and the people fall from the inside, and then he opens his hands and the cars explode over their heads. He moves his hands to the right, throwing the parts down the hills.

That’s when he sees it, a man getting closer where he hid his bike and he does the only thing he knows will be able to stop it. He claps and extends his arms making everything around him float and jump, Niall likes this bit, he calls it _‘freezing time’_ because it looks like everything stops, but it doesn’t, it’s just Harry moving matter and forces at his will and his own speed, but it takes a lot of him and Niall knows it so he’s there the right second to catch Harry when everything falls to the ground and then he jumps where the bike is hidden and Harry passes out.

*

When Harry wakes up, he’s in his own bed but he can see Niall’s silhouette coming from his bathroom, wiping up his hair with a towel. His window is open and he can feel the cold air getting into his blanket, attacking his feet. He extends his finger and turns the lights on, making Niall turn to him. He can see his face now, a couple of bruises and scratches that are slowly fading out, his hair is wet but cleaner, just like him.

“Where is the thing?” Harry asks, looking around his apartment.

“In a safe place,” Niall answers, smiling at him and making him feel dizzy again, just like when they were fifteen and Harry would do anything for him.

“In your secret lair?” Harry says, sitting down and feeling the headache finally hit him.

“With MI6,” Niall says, handing him some aspirin and a glass of water.

“What?” Harry looks at him, confused but takes the medicine anyway.

“I’m clean now, I’m operating by the books.” Niall laughs, leaving the glass of water on his hand and walking to the bathroom to return the towel to its place. “I’m an agent now.”

Harry looks at him, trying to make any sense of what he’s saying. Is that possible? The government knows about Niall and they let them just run with it? Or are they holding him hostage, somehow? Making him work for them, putting his life at risk. Suddenly, breathing is getting difficult and having thousands of thoughts by a minute is not helping at all.

“Where was your back up tonight?!” Harry says, standing up and going to the bathroom again.

He finds Niall brushing his teeth, using his toothbrush.

“You were my backup.” He says, spitting out the toothpaste.

“Do they know about me?!” Harry yells and he can see the conflict in his eyes like he wants to say something but finally, he smiles and shakes his head.

Sometimes, Harry wishes he could read minds.

“No, but I told them I got this one. I texted you just in case.” He leaves the bathroom and takes the jacket from the chair’s back.

“You have to stop doing that,” Harry says as he sees Niall approaching the open window. “Texting me in the middle of the night, telling me what you’re up to or where you’re going. I’m not a hero, Niall.”

Niall turns to him as he sits right in the window frame and even if Harry knows he can take the fall, the fact that he lives on the tenth floor is still nerve racking.

“I guess I just like proving you wrong.” And then, Niall jumps out of the window. 


End file.
